SANDUSKY, Ohio – The Washington & Jefferson College women's volleyball split in their season opening matches at the Cedar Point Tournament, hosted by Heidelberg. The Presidents fell in a 3-2 contest to Alma in the opener but bounced back with a 3-0 sweep of Kalamazoo in game two.
 
W&J 2, Alma 3 (25-22, 25-20, 24-26, 20-25, 14-16)
Faith Fetsko (Venetia, Pa./South Park) led the way offensively for the Presidents in their first match of the season with 16 kills. Fetsko also tacked on five service aces and a team leading 17 digs. Abby Oldham (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell) led the team defensively with six total blocks. Fetsko and Jordan Sirianni (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell) combined for nine service aces on the afternoon. Brielle Moorhouse (East Liberty, Ohio/Benjamin Logan) finished with 27 assists while Isabella Bottiglieri (Mohnton, Pa./Governor Mifflin) added 19 assists.
 
A pair of attack errors from Alma aided in the Presidents first set victory, 25-22. Despite a quick start by the Scots in the second set with a 4-0 run to start, W&J gained a 13-11 lead in the midst of the second set due to a seven-point run. Fetsko highlighted the lead changing run with four kills. A pair of attack errors and kills by Anna Boikov (Wilmore, Ky./West Jessamine) and Sophie Little (Marysville, Ohio/Fairbanks) secured the two-set lead for W&J.
 
Both units traded brief leads through the third set until the Scots mustered three-straight points to pick up their first set victory, 26-24.
 
In the fourth set, Alma grew a 22-16 lead before the Presidents managed to find their offensive stride as Fetsko tallied three-straight kills. Despite their late-comeback efforts, the Scots pushed the match to a fifth set with a 25-20 fourth set win.
 
The Presidents opened the fifth set with a 7-2 lead with contributions from Fetsko, Little, Oldham and Boikov. The Scots responded with offensive runs of their own to knot the score at nine. Similar to the third set, both units traded the lead until Alma pulled away with three-straight points to close out the match, 16-14.
 
W&J 3, Kalamazoo 0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-19)
In the Presidents first victory of the season, Fetsko flashed again while leading the team in kills (13) and digs (16). Oldham maintained the Presidents' leader defensively with four total blocks during the nightcap. Moorhouse led the setting room with 19 assists followed by freshman Bottiglieri with 11 assists.
 
W&J catapulted themselves out to a rapid 11-4 lead. The Hornets responded with a nine-point run to take their first lead of the evening. Errors by Kalamazoo opened the door for the Presidents offense to respond with a nine-point run of their own to take a 21-14 lead. A service error by the Hornets and service ace by Bottiglieri secured the Presidents' first set victory, 25-19.
 
The Hornets flipped the script on the Presidents in the second set, jumping out to an 11-3 lead. Kills by Fetsko, Little and Oldham propelled the Presidents slow rise to an even score of 20. A block by Beyoncé Pierce and Oldham completed W&J's set two comeback, 25-23.
 
With plenty of momentum heading into the third set, the Presidents battled to a 16-13 lead. Three kills from Fetsko and a service ace by Sirianni grew the W&J lead to 21-17. The freshman duo of Cali Dagen (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) and Bottiglieri completed the sweep of Kalamazoo as Dagen earned a kill to close out the set, 25-19.
 
W&J remains at the Cedar Point Tournament on Saturday (Aug. 30). The weekend opener with Oberlin is set for a 10:00 a.m. start followed by a 12:00 p.m. match with North Park.